Trapcode Sound Keys

Overview

Sound Keys is a somewhat unusual keyframe generator in that typical After Effects keyframe generators (e.g., Wiggler, Motion Sketch) appear in their own palettes, but Sound Keys applies as an effect. It then uses the comp window to display the audio spectrum and for defining what spectrum range should create the keyframes. The keyframes are then generated to the plug-in's Output parameters. To use the generated stream, either an expression is used or the keyframes are copied to desired parameters.

One advantage with this approach to keyframe generators is that you can save the settings for the generator with the project — naturally, since it's a regular effect! This means you can, at any time, tweak the settings, press Apply again, and see your keyframes regenerate with the new settings. Just remember to delete the old ones first if you have changed the Keyframes per Second parameter.

Sound Keys renders the audio spectrum exactly like an effect renders its output. When the keyframes are done, layer visibility is usually switched off. The Apply and Delete buttons still work when visibilty is off.

Sound Keys provides three ranges to set up keyframe generation. (A range defines an area in the spectrum.) The intended workflow is first to use RAM Preview to spot the spectrum area that corresponds to the sounds you want to capture. Then use the range selectors to define that area. After that, use RAM Preview again to inspect the output (the green bars on the right). When the output seems fine, press the Apply button to generate keyframes for the work area duration.